Read more about Amazon’s win in union fight shows harsh realities facing labour movement on Business Standard. A vote by workers on whether to unionize failed on Friday by a more than 2-to-1 margin
com Inc’s fierce resistance to unionization, skepticism among workers that organizing could get them a better deal and decisions on election parameters all contributed to the apparently lopsided defeat of a labour drive at the company’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, people close to the events said. A vote by workers on whether to unionize failed on Friday by a more than 2-to-1 margin in a major win for the world’s largest online retailer. The union plans to challenge the results based on Amazon’s conduct during the election. Union leaders had hoped the campaign just outside Birmingham would create Amazon’s first organized workplace in the country and spark a new era of worker activism. Instead, it has illustrated the continued challenges facing the labour movement. Officials at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) argued that Amazon’s unfair tactics were to blame in an election where only just over half of eligible workers cast ballots. In a statement, the RWDSU said, «The results of the election should be set aside because conduct by the employer created an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and/or fear of reprisals and thus interfered with the employees’ freedom of choice.» in a blog post denied the outcome resulted from intimidation of its employees. «We’ve always worked hard to listen to them, take their feedback, make continuous improvements, and invest heavily to offer great pay and benefits in a safe and inclusive workplace,» it said. The e-commerce company campaigned for weeks, plastering the warehouse and even a bathroom stall with anti-union notices, stopping work for mandatory employee meetings on the election, and bombarding staff with text messages criticizing the RWDSU. In one of the messages seen by Reuters, warehouse leadership warned that collective bargaining could result in workers losing benefits — something the union has disputed. «Everything is on the table,» the text declared. And in one of the mandatory meetings, presentations asserted union leaders used membership dues for improper purposes such as expensive cars and vacations, a former employee at the company’s warehouse told Reuters. The union did not immediately comment on the claim. But some warehouse workers pointed to shortcomings in the union drive. Many younger workers, lacking experience with unions and knowledge of labour history, were never persuaded of the benefits of organizing, these people said.
